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Can't walk and need surgery. Denied PiP, so what now?

Dexas

Hello everyone!

I'll try and keep this as brief as possible. Over 10 years ago I started having pain in my left my ankle. I was referred to the physiotherapists who diagnosed me with instabiltity due to repeated ankle sprains. They put together a treatment plan with a bunch of physio exercises and sent me on my way.

Over the following decade the pain got worse my ankle grew weaker and weaker (to the point that my left leg is a few inches thinner than my right). I kept going back to the physiotherapists, who repeated the diagnosis and gave me more exercises to do. This happened every 6-12 months.

Over the past 3-4 years it's got so bad that I can't do many day-to-day activities, and the specialist sent me for an MRI.

It turns out that not only was the initial diagnosis completely wrong, but the physio exercises probably exacerbated it. The bones of my lower tibia and the top of my plafod are essentially crumbling, and spending so much time on my feet has acclerated the decline.

I sent off my PiP assessment last August but recieved confirmation yesterday that after the mandatory review I am not eligble. It was a strange experience to be sure: I cant drive, normally crawl around my house, cant stand on two legs, use two crutches whenever I'm upright… but apparently that is good enough to a work full time job.

The surgery I need is up to 18 months recovery time (and may not even work), but obviously I can't get that until I have support in place. I was living off a student loan (online classes have been a life-saver), but that also means I'm not eligible for some types of support.

So… I'm not really sure what to do. I literally can't do the things the PiP assessors think I can.

DWP are unable to help, so any advice for next steps would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

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Comments

Dexas

Sorry, I should clarify that my MRI was only in April.

Kimi87

The next step would be to take the PIP decision to an appeal tribunal:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/appeals/apply-to-tribunal/

I'd recommend consulting a local welfare rights organisation, you should be able to find soneone to support you throughout the process including representation at the tribunal.

Jimm_Alumni

Hi @Dexas, first of all welcome to the community. I'm sorry to hear that the DWP have given you such a difficult time. You really aren't alone in this. I've heard of people being denied despite only having one leg and being heavily affected by that of course!

The MR is not the end though as Kimmy mentions. There is the tribunal, which is where a panel from His Majesties Courts & Tribunals Service looks over your case, not the DWP. I recently spoke to a tribunal judge funnily enough, who said something like 70% of all cases he sees ends up with a reward (he said some not very nice things about the DWP too)

I'd recommend reading the citizens advice page Kimmy has linked, and seeing if there is a local benefits adviser who can help you through this process. They are invaluable at helping people through the tribunal.